Franchitti Wins Pole At Sonoma

SONOMA, Aug. 22, 2009: Dario Franchitti saved his best for last.

Franchitti's final lap in the Firestone Fast Six shootout earned him the PEAK Performance Pole Award for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma with a lap of 1 minute, 16.7987 seconds around the 2.303-mile, 12-turn Infineon Raceway course during the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six shootout.

Franchitti, the only driver to participate in all seven Firestone Fast Six sessions this season, will be joined on the front row by Ryan Briscoe, who had set the bar early in the third and final qualifying session with a lap of 1:16.8485 in the No. 6 Team Penske car.

Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti will start on Row 2 while Hideki Mutoh and Graham Rahal round out the top six. Points leader Scott Dixon will line up 10th on the grid.

Penske Racing's Will Power and Conquest Racing's Nelson Philippe were hospitalized after an incident during the morning practice session.

Philippe's No. 34 iDrive Green entry for Conquest Racing spun at the exit of Turn 3a (blind cresting the 153-foot elevation portion of the corner) and came to a stop on the left side of the racetrack. E.J. Viso, driving the No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing car, attempted to avoid the car but clipped the front of Philippe's car with his left-rear tire. Power, also cresting the hill, couldn't avoid the debris and hit Philippe's car.

Both drivers were admitted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Power suffered compression fractures of the L2 and L4 (lumbar) vetebrae and was scheduled for a magnetic resonance imaging. Philippe is scheduled for surgery to repair an open fracture to his left foot. Both drivers suffered concussions.